A PhD/ECR workshop at the Department of Islamic & Middle Eastern Studies, University of Edinburgh

The term ‘Arab Jews’ is increasingly used by scholars, campaigners and commentators. But what does it mean? How does this meaning vary amongst constituencies? What does it mean to be an ‘Arab Jew’, or a Jew in an Arab society, in different times and places across the Middle East? What diversities – or commonalities – of experience are suggested or hidden when we use this phrase? And how do academic, campaigner and popular understandings of the idea of ‘Arab Jews’ differ?

This two-day workshop at the Department of Islamic & Middle Eastern Studies, University of Edinburgh, will provide a forum for PhD and Early Career Researchers to debate these issues and develop a deeper understanding of the term, its history, its applicability(/ies) and challenges to it. Sessions will include discussions of Arab Jews as a conceptual and theoretical term, as well as case studies which explore its application and appropriateness over time and space.

Workshop sessions will be led by several specialists in the field, including Dr Aline Schlaepfer (American University of Beirut/University of Geneva). Participants will be expected to have read a selection of materials in preparation for the workshop and to take part fully in discussions; some will also be asked to prepare short responses to the readings.

The workshop will take place on Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd July, 2016 and will cost £20 (applicants may also be interested in IMES’ summer school on Hebrew for Arabic Speakers, which commences the following Monday). Applications should be sent to Sarah Irving(sarah.irving@ed.ac.uk) by Thursday 31st March 2016, and should consist of 1) a brief academic CV and 2) a 500 word statement of current research interests and your reasons for wanting to attend this workshop. Successful applicants will be notified by Friday April 15th.

Please note that IMES is unable to provide accommodation for the duration of the workshop, although the workshop fee covers lunch and refreshments. There will be an optional workshop dinner on the Friday evening. We may be able to help with advice on accommodation in and travel to Edinburgh.

The plain, unadorned character of the first-century synagogues excavated in Israel in recent decades differs significantly from that of the synagogues lavishly decorated with mosaic floors which were built in the centuries after Constantine initiated the Christian creation of the “Holy Land.” These aspects of synagogal architectural and artistic composition display differing concepts of sacred space—concepts which reflect important changes in the nature of worship and liturgical activity in Judaism. This talk aims to read the material culture found in archaeological excavations of these two synagogue types and to suggest how those readings might shape our research into them.

A lecture by Professor Paul V.M. Flesher, University of Wyoming

An event jointly organised by The Centre for the Study of Christian Origins, The Jewish Studies Network, and the Religious Studies Research Seminar.

In October IMES, in conjunction with the Alwaleed Centre, will be marking the 50th anniversary of W. Montgomery Watt’s inaugural address as the first Chair of Arabic and Islamic Studies in Scotland with an evening and day of events.

This promises to be a most memorable occasion and will provide an opportunity not only to assess the state of the field since Professor Watt’s pioneering work but will also emphasise the continuing strength of Islamic Studies at the University of Edinburgh.

Both events will be held in the Playfair Library at the University of Edinburgh and are open to the public.